The Givatayim Observatory is a public observatory that was founded in 1968 by the Israeli Astronomical Association and the

Givatayim Givatayim () is a city in Israel east of Tel Aviv. It is part of the Gush Dan metropolitan area. Givatayim was established in 1922 by pioneers of the Second Aliyah. In it had a population of . The name of the city comes from the "two hills" on w ...

municipality.

Activities

These are some of the activities taking place in the observatory: * Public lectures and observations once or twice a week. * Israeli Astronomical Association lectures every Thursday. *

Astronomy Astronomy is a natural science that studies celestial objects and the phenomena that occur in the cosmos. It uses mathematics, physics, and chemistry in order to explain their origin and their overall evolution. Objects of interest includ ...

courses for adults and children * Hosting and promoting high school projects * Bachelor students and high school research activities (e.g.,

near Earth object A near-Earth object (NEO) is any small Solar System body orbiting the Sun whose closest approach to the Sun (Apsis, perihelion) is less than 1.3 times the Earth–Sun distance (astronomical unit, AU). This definition applies to the object's orb ...

variable stars A variable star is a star whose brightness as seen from Earth (its apparent magnitude) changes systematically with time. This variation may be caused by a change in emitted light or by something partly blocking the light, so variable stars are ...

extrasolar planets An exoplanet or extrasolar planet is a planet outside the Solar System. The first confirmed detection of an exoplanet was in 1992 around a pulsar, and the first detection around a main-sequence star was in 1995. A different planet, first detect ...

) The observatory is placed on a hill (87m above sea level) inside a public park in

( HaAliya HaShniya Garden). Givatayim is a town adjacent to

Tel Aviv Tel Aviv-Yafo ( or , ; ), sometimes rendered as Tel Aviv-Jaffa, and usually referred to as just Tel Aviv, is the most populous city in the Gush Dan metropolitan area of Israel. Located on the Israeli Mediterranean coastline and with a popula ...

and part of the Greater Tel Aviv region. Because of this location, the sky is very bright and precludes observation of faint objects.

Equipment

* Meade 16-

inch The inch (symbol: in or prime (symbol), ) is a Units of measurement, unit of length in the imperial units, British Imperial and the United States customary units, United States customary System of measurement, systems of measurement. It is eq ...

LX200 Schmidt-Cassegrain telescope. Mostly used for

astrophotography Astrophotography, also known as astronomical imaging, is the photography or imaging of astronomical objects, celestial events, or areas of the night sky. The first photograph of an astronomical object (the Moon) was taken in 1839, but it was no ...

. *Meade 12-inch LX200 Schmidt-Cassegrain telescope. Mostly used for public observations. *Meade 16-inch Starfinder

Newtonian telescope The Newtonian telescope, also called the Newtonian reflector or just a Newtonian, is a type of reflecting telescope invented by the English scientist Sir Isaac Newton, using a concave primary mirror and a flat diagonal secondary mirror. Newto ...

*6-inch Coude

refractor A refracting telescope (also called a refractor) is a type of optical telescope that uses a lens as its objective to form an image (also referred to a dioptric telescope). The refracting telescope design was originally used in spyglasses and ...

*Coronado 40 mm PST *Various smaller

telescope A telescope is a device used to observe distant objects by their emission, Absorption (electromagnetic radiation), absorption, or Reflection (physics), reflection of electromagnetic radiation. Originally, it was an optical instrument using len ...

s *Meade Deep Sky Imager (color and pro version) *Meade Pictor 1616 *Meade Lunar-Planetary Imager *SBIG ST-8 CCD

camera A camera is an instrument used to capture and store images and videos, either digitally via an electronic image sensor, or chemically via a light-sensitive material such as photographic film. As a pivotal technology in the fields of photograp ...

. The main telescope (16-inch Schmidt-Cassegrain telescope) is located in a

dome A dome () is an architectural element similar to the hollow upper half of a sphere. There is significant overlap with the term cupola, which may also refer to a dome or a structure on top of a dome. The precise definition of a dome has been a m ...

and is dedicated to imaging and research. The other telescopes are operated on an observation terrace next to the dome. The sky in Givatayim is highly light polluted. The situation deteriorated during the last years due to new skyscrapers (

Azrieli Center Azrieli Center (; ''Merkaz Azrieli'') is a complex of three skyscrapers in Tel Aviv. At the base of the complex lies a large shopping mall. The complex was designed by Israeli-American architect Eli Attia. After Attia and the developer of the ...

Moshe Aviv Tower Moshe Aviv Tower () is a skyscraper located in the demarcated area of the Diamond Exchange District (Israel Diamond Exchange) on Jabotinsky Road (No. 7) in the Tel Aviv District city of Ramat Gan, Israel. The 68-story building is commonly known ...

, new government building etc.), which are illuminated from below by strong floodlights, sending their light cones into the sky. Moreover, during the last years the bad habit of huge advertisement walls, also illuminated by strong spotlights, became widespread. Many of these spotlights are misdirected, sending their light into the sky. Between 1984 and 2016 Dr. Igal Patel was the head of the observatory and of the Israeli Astronomical Association. Since 2016 Dr. Diana Laufer is the Scientific Director and Shalom Hananya is the administrative director. The observatory staff consists of about dozen people with specialties in different fields, including several young instructors.

References

{{Portal bar, Israel, Astronomy, Stars, Spaceflight, Outer space, Solar System, Education, Science Astronomical observatories in Israel Givatayim 1968 establishments in Israel Buildings and structures in Tel Aviv District Education in Tel Aviv District Tourist attractions in Tel Aviv District Space program of Israel

Activities

Equipment

See also

References